Field Hockey
In a showdown of two of the top teams in the state, No. 8 Andover dominated No. 5 Central Catholic, 5-1, in a Merrimack Valley Conference game played Monday night.
In the earlier meeting, Central won 3-2.
Bella DiFiore was once again the offensive star as she found the back of the net three times to lead the Golden Warriors’ (14-2-1) offense. Chloe Broderick and Scarlet Glass had single tallies. Picking up assists were DiFiore, Lucy MacLean, Mia Giaimo and Ella Sewall.
Goalie Lucy Baker made seven saves in the win.
For Central (15-1-1/10-1-0), Alex Kohalmi scored the lone goal off a rebound shot taken by Kerri Finneran, while goalie Ava Perrotta made 12 saves.
Methuen 6, Dracut 0
Crystal Merino and Ava Nartiff had two goals each to lead the Rangers. Chloe Pickett added one goal and one assist and Emily Barbosa also scored. Gianna Sakelaris had a strong game in the midfield and Sophia Barbosa finished with five saves in net. Methuen is now 8-9 overall and has to beat Malden Catholic on Wednesday to get an automatic spot in the Division 1 state tournament.
Chelmsford 2,
North Andover 1
North Andover goalie Sofia Bea was tremendous, as she was peppered all game and turned away 26 of 28 shots. Julianna Taylor scored the lone goal. The Scarlet Knights are now 7-9-1 overall. On Monday, the team was ranked No. 27 in the Division 1 Power Rankings and should qualify regardless of Wednesday’s game with Amesbury.
Volleyball
Marblehead 3,
Haverhill 1
The Hillies were defeated in a non-league match by scores of 25-19, 25-19, 21-25 and 25-20. Gabby Burdier had another strong night with 20 digs and 18 kills, while setter Olivia Lesswing finished with 25 assists. Callan Goncalves had three aces and Leah Terroux had two blocks.
Andover 3, Methuen 1
The Golden Warriors improved to 13-5 with the four-set victory over league rival Methuen by scores of 25-22, 23-25, 25-7 and 25-5. Andover dominated at the serving line with Megan Durant with 22 points including five aces and Kate Hilson with 14 points, including six aces. They both also combined for 18 digs. Tina Zheng finished with 30 assists, Jessie Wang finished with eight kills and two blocks, while, Naomi Vajada added 14 kills and Leak Satlow had two blocks.
Billerica 3,
Central Catholic 0
Central Catholic fell to 12-7 against a powerful Billerica team by scores of 25-16, 25-15 and 25-18. Madison Blanchet had 25 assists and two aces, Julie Hall had 18 kills, 12 digs and two aces, Mia Romansik added 12 digs and Makayla Murphy had 11 service points.
Goffstown 3, Salem 0
The Blue Devils (11-5) ran into a tough match-up losing 25-22, 25-23 and 25-18. Playing well in the loss were Madi Mohan (13 kills, 6 digs), Mia Contarino (10 digs, 3 aces), Riley Blanchet (7 assists, 6 aces, 4 digs) and Marina D’Amico (12 assists).
Pinkerton 3, Merrimack 0
Pinkerton improved to 14-3 with the sweep (25-21, 25-17 and 25-18) victory. Izzy McIntyre had a busy night with 14 digs and 13 service points with four aces. She was helped by Calli Miller (19 digs, ten service points with two aces, and eight kills), Kara Porter and Lucy Denu, who both had 16 assists, Maddie Andrade, who finished with 16 digs and eight kills, and Aaliyah Gooden, who had 11 kills and four blocks.
Golf
Central Catholic finished 11th in the Division 1 state meet. Leading the way for the Raiders included Harry Garland (T-37th, +11), Domenic Santo (T-64th, +15), while, Jake Morowski (92), Chase Akstin (96), Liam Vena (96) and Finnegan Rourke (98) also competed.